Vending machine



April 12,1927. 1,624,263

W L. LINTON VENDING MACHINE` Filed Dec. 8. 1924 l2 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 12 1927.

W. L. LINTON VENDING MACHINE Filed Dec. 8, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2' @a j@ M I @Sw V6.4

@Romania Patented Apr 1g, 1927- UNITED STATES PATENT!" FFCE..

WALTER LOYD LINTON, OF NDEPENDENCE, KANSAS.

VENDING Application filed December My invention relates to in'iprovements in vending machines of the type in which the articles o1 merchandise to be sold, are stacked one upon another, in a vertical magazine, a movable coin-controlled ejector being provided at the lower end of the magazine for ejecting the lowermost ot the articles, each time said ejectoris operated.

One object ot the invention is to provide a machine which may be used for vending single cigarettes or other similarly shaped articles, although its use is not restricted to this tield.

A further object ot the invention is to provide the ejector with a relatively narrow terminal upon which the lower-most article of the stack normally rests, so that when the ejector is operated to move the article and said narrow portion beyond the magazine, the article may tilt and fall from said narrow portion, to discharge through the outlet of the machine.

With the foregoing in view, the invention 'resides in the novel subject matter hereinafter described and claimed, the description being supplemented by the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a vending machine constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view on line 2 2 of Fig. 1, showing the normal relation of parts.

Figure 3 is a view similar to a portion of Fig. 2, illustrating the manner in which the machine operates to eject the lowermost article from one of the magazines.

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Figure 5 is a perspective view ot the manually controlled actuator for the ejector or plunger.

Figure tor or plunger.

In the form of construction selected for illustration in the present application, the numeral 1 designates a horizontally elongated casing having a vertical portion 2 divided by partitions 3 into a plurality of magazines 4 Jtor cigarettes or other articles of merchandise to be dispensed. The upper end of the magazine portion 2 is provided with a normally locked closure 5 so that the cigarettes or the like 6 may be inserted when said closure is opened. Weights, one ot which is indicated at 7 in Fig. 25 are 6 is a perspective view of the ejec= Macallan.

S, 1924. serial No. 754,599.

placed upon the stacks ot merchandise to reed them downwardly.

Within the base portion 1 ot the casing, an inclined discharge chute 8 is provided, said chute having an appropriate check 9 at its lower end. The space 10 above this chute constitutes a coin receptacle and a normally locked door 11 is provided for such receptacle. 1n the presentshowing, the magazines extend downwardly through the top ot the casing portion 1 and each magazine is preferably provided with a bottom 12 slightly above the chute 8, with an opening 13 in its front side and with an opening 14 in its rear sid-e. The ejectors pass through the openings 13 to project the articles of merchandise through the openings 14. @ne of the eject-ing units is illustrated in detail in Figs. 2 and 3, and two of them are disclosed in Fig. 4, it being understood however that one of such units is provided for each magazine, and as all of the units are duplicates, only one will be described.

The ejector proper is indicated at 15, said ejector being shown in the form of a rod or plunger whose front end is received in the opening 13. This end of the plunger is provided with a narrow, wire-like horizontal terminal 16 upon which the lowermost et the articles 4, normally rests, said terminal engagingthe central portion of the article as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 4. The rear end of the terminal 16 carries a vertical plate 17 which normally closes the opening 14 as shown in Fig. 2. When the plunger 15 is forced rearwardly however, (see Fig. 3) it bodily projects the terminal 16 and one of the articles 6, through the opening 14. Then, the article is free to tilt and drop Jfrom the terminal 16, into the chute 8 down which it slides to the purchaser.

A tubular actuator 18 slid-ably surrounds the front portion ot the plunger 15, and a transverse pin 19 passes through the actuator and through a longitudinal slot 20 in the plunger. The ends o1 the pin 19 project from the actuator and are engaged by one end of a coiled compression spring 21 which surrounds said actuator, the other end ot said spring being disposed against an appropriate guide 22 which is secured to the upper portion of the casing 1 for the actuator. In front of the spring, the actuator 18 is provided with an upstanding knob 23 passing threugh a slot 24 in the casing, and.

in rear of the guide 22, the actuator is formed with a coin slot 211 normally registering with another slot 25 in the casing and with a third slot 26 in theplunger 15. Under the slots, a coin shelf 27 is provided.

Obviously, the actuator 18 is operatedby the knob 23, against the action of the spring 21, when a coin is inserted through the slots,

as shownin Fig. 2, and rearward forcing of said actuator` which is then connected by the coin with the plunger 15, will rearwardly move the latter to eject one of the articles 6. As soon as the knob is released, the spring returns the actuator 18 and the plunger 15 to their normal positions, the coin in the meantime having been ejected from the slots 24and 26.

In the preferred form of construction, a leaf 'spring .30` is stat-ionarily anchored at one end Within the casing and yieldably bears at its other end against the lower side of the plunger 15. lWhen this plunger is moved to the position of Fig. 3, the spring 3U yields upwardly into the slot 26 and removes thecoin therefrom, as fully shown in F ig. 3, after which the spring 19 returns the parts to normal.

Topreve'nt any possibility of the plunger l-being moved if the actuator 18 'is idly moved,Without insertion of a coin, I provide at least one, but preferably two spring detents 31 which lare stationarily anchored in the casing and in the present show-ing are shaped to snap over rounded projections 32 on the plunger 15. -l/"Vhen a coin is inserted ,j and the plunger is moved, the detente 31 of course disengage the projections'and when the plungenreturns to its-normal position, said detents re-engage said projections.

"It will be seen from the foregoing that a rather simple and ineXpensive,-yet an ellicientand desirable vending machine has been'provided, which 'may be used for nu merous purposes. As excellent results are obtainable from the general structure disclosed,-such structure may well be followed, but Within the scope of the invention as claimed, numerous modifications may be made. Also attention may be here directed to the'fact that the machine may be manufactured with any desired number of magathe lowermost article, said ejector alsohavling a thrust shoulder to engagethe article,

and means for operating said ejector to project said Wire-like terminal and the article beyond the magazine, permittingsuch article to tilt and fall from said terminal.

2. A vendingv machine comprising a' vertical magazine for articles of merchandise, said magazine having openings in its front and rear sides at the lovver lends thereof, a plunger passing rearwardly through the frontl opening of the magazine'to engage the front end of the lovvermost artielefor'forcing Ait rearwardlythrough the rear opening of the magazine, said plunger having a. rearwardly projecting Wire-like terminal upon which the central portion of the loWermost article normally rests, and a plate carried `by the rear end of said Wire-like terminal to normallyv close said rear opening of the magazine.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

WALTER LOYD LINTON. 

